If you are unsure whether the Egyptian revolution was a complete success, consider this; the country’s first democratically elected president is currently in jail, while its dictator of thirty years will soon be free. Four years after former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power, a court dismissed charges against him in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 revolution. The judge overseeing the case, Mahmoud Rashidi, cited a comical reason for this decision. Rashidi claims the charges against the 86-year-old Mubarak were politically motivated and that his June 2012 conviction was flawed. The blaring question remains, if Mubarak wasn’t responsible for the death of almost 200 peaceful protesters, then who was? Supporters …show more content…
Chalk it up to mass suicide,” tweeted independent journalist Sharif Kouddous. “Wondering if Mubarak will now start an NGO working to provide legal aid to the wrongfully accused,” tweeted activist Sherief Gaber. And yet the reaction has been relatively tame. Only around 3,000 people gathered in Tahrir Square this past week, while tens of millions took part in the demonstrations that took place during and since the 2011 revolution. It seems Egyptians are disillusioned with the current situation. “Brave people heading to Tahrir. Personally I no longer have what it takes,” tweeted Sarah Naguib. Despite the obvious disappointment the acquittal has caused, I don’t think it’s a symptom of a failed revolution; rather it’s a symptom of an incomplete one. Yes protesters stood in Tahrir Square for 18 days in February 2011, yes Mubarak stepped down, and yes a democratic election subsequently took place. But when Mubarak stepped down, he did so alone; his regime was still in tact. The military, security apparatus, state media, internal state bureaucracy were all unaffected by the …show more content…
His election was unsurprising, considering the Brotherhood’s history and power. The Islamic Scholar Hassan Al Banna founded the party in the 1920s, by the late 1940s it had an estimated two million members. In contrast, liberal parties only emerged recently and are not unified. In a country such as Egypt, where 40% of the population lives under $2 a day, and literacy rate are among the worst in the region, parties like the brotherhood who engage in social welfare activities are more likely to rake in the